Ukraine has returned five more children from temporarily occupied territories and Russia, official says
Ukraine has successfully returned five more children who had been in temporarily occupied territories and in Russia, the Children’s Rights Commissioner reported.
The successful completion of this stage of the mission was announced by Dmytro Lubinets, Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights.
According to the ombudsman, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, 1,985 children have already been returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory. The new group consists of five minors aged 4 to 15, each of whom endured years-long hardships on their way back home.
“This was achieved thanks to the active efforts of the Ombudsman’s Office team, within the framework of the President of Ukraine’s initiative Bring Kids Back Ua. The process also involved the public organization Save Ukraine, and I am grateful to them for their support. I also want to thank the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, for humanitarian support of Ukraine’s initiatives in returning children,” Lubinets said.
Behind each name is a story that ended in joyful reunions:
- Brother and sister (4 and 6 years old): They were abducted by the occupiers from a Kherson orphanage as infants. Their mother had not seen them for four years.
- Seven-year-old boy: Also a resident of the Kherson orphanage, deported by Russian forces during the occupation of the city. His mother never stopped fighting until she embraced her son.
- Nine-year-old boy: Ended up in Russia with his mother, who died there from a serious illness. After unsuccessful attempts by his grandfather to retrieve him, the boy was finally reunited with his uncle in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russia struck a hospital in Sumy with drones, where children were receiving treatment.
Additionally, Russian occupiers targeted a private residential building in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, killing four people and injuring two others.
Russian forces also attacked Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia region. As a result of the shelling, a civilian woman was killed.
